October 2010 Archive

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear drew tens of thousands to the National Mall in Washington DC yesterday and hundreds of thousands to the event’s live broadcasts on TV and online. Among the highlights: Colbert’s big entrance from his “fear bunker” via a capsule like the one used in the Chilean miners’ rescue, Stewart’s closing Moment of Sincerity, which produced the most sound bites from the event such as "We live now in hard times, not… Read

GK Films has released a new trailer for London Boulevard, marking the directorial debut of William Monahan. The Oscar-winning writer of The Departed adapted the Ken Bruen novel. The drama opens next month in the UK and comes to the U.S. early next… Read

OK, I’ve watched almost an hour of Saturday Night Live tonight and it SUCKS. Just like its other shows opening this season. When they can’t even find anything amusing to say about Halloween, it’s time to hang it up. Jeez, why is it so hard for showbiz to do funny that’s actually funny? At least Monday night’s The Women Of SNL is a retrospective of better… Read

SATURDAY PM: Sources are giving me these early North American grosses for Friday and Saturday and weekend and cume. Numbers which will be refined tonight and/or in the morning. Analysis coming:
1. Saw VII 3D (Lionsgate) NEW [2,808 Theaters]
Friday $10.7M, Saturday $7.9M, Weekend $24.2M)
A scary Halloween to one and all. You know what frightens me? More Saw pics. This is supposed to be the final chapter of the franchise that has made $763 million in global box office and… Read

After a two-week blackout, Fox signal was restored in some 3 million Cablevision homes just before the start of Game 3 of the World Series. Fox just announced that the two sides have reached “an agreement in principal for a new distribution agreement.” The agreement covers Fox O&Os WNYW in New York and WTXF in Philadelphia as well as MyNet’s WWOR in New York and cable channels FOX Deportes, FOX Business Network, and Nat Geo WILD. It will also allow Cablevision customers… Read

2ND UPDATE: I’m still trying to discover how George Hickenlooper passed away, but I’m told he had been in Colorado campaigning last night for his cousin, John, who is in the final stretch run of the Governor’s race in Colorado. John, the mayor of Denver, is the Democratic Party candidate. Hickenlooper went early to Denver to help his cousin, and had to be there later this week, when Casino Jack will be shown Thursday at the Starz Film Festival. I’m told that George didn… Read

CW’s Smallville continues to fly high as it approaches the end of its 10-season run. The comic book adaptation (1.2/4 in 18-49, 2.9 million) was up 20% in 18-49 and 12% in total viewers from last week. Its lead-out, Supernatural (1.1/4, 2.5) was flat. The network finished third for the night in 18-49 and tied for No.1 in 18-34.
ABC’s Primetime: What Would You Do? (1.7/5) led the rise of the newsmagazines this week. With a stronger lead-in, a rerun of It’s the Great Pumpkin…Read

EXCLUSIVE: Lev L. Spiro is set to direct ABC Family’s drama pilot What Would Jane Do, while Erica Dasher (The Lake) was cast as the title character. What Would JaneDo follows 16-year-old Jane (Dasher), who lands a job at a hip retail company when they mistake her for an adult. Jane soon finds herself juggling life as a regular teenager in high school and as an assistant to a high powered executive in the cutthroat world of fashion…all while trying to keep her true… Read

After a decade in features, Spin City writer-producer Jeff Lowell is returning to television with a single-camera comedy at NBC produced by ABC Studios and Brillstein Entertainment. The untitled project, which has received a script order, is a romantic comedy about a couple from the point of view of the man and the woman whose unspoken thoughts we can hear via voiceover. “It’s a little bit like the balcony scene from Annie Hall,” Lowell said, adding that he got the idea… Read

2ND UPDATE: MGM has just issued this statement about the results of the creditor voting:
“Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (‘MGM’) today announced that the secured lenders voting in the Company’s solicitation process have overwhelmingly approved its proposed plan of reorganization (‘Plan’). MGM will now move expeditiously to implement that Plan, which will dramatically reduce its debt load and put the Company in a strong position to execute its business strategy. MGM is… Read

Talk about a bolt from the blue. The town was surprised today when Matt Tolmach exited from co-president of production at Sony Pictures Entertainment to a producing deal that starts with Tolmach joining the Spider-Man franchise he has managed from day one as an executive. Now, any time a studio production president segues into a producing deal and claims it was his choice, it gets my spider sense tingling. Because most times, it takes a firing, or the Jaws of Life, to pry… Read

While it’s still fighting with Cablevision, Fox has settled its carriage dispute with Dish Network. It has signed a comprehensive deal for its broadcast network’s O&O stations as well as the cable channels that went dark on Oct. 1. (They have been restored today.) The Fox network signal was in jeopardy with the two sides’ previous deal expiring Sunday night. The agreement means Dish customers will have continued coverage of the World Series and the NFL unlike Cablevision… Read